Chuck Smith :: Verse by Verse Study on Psalms 1-15 (C2000)

Shall we turn to the Psalms, beginning tonight with the first psalm.

The Psalms are actually divided into five books. It was really the hymnbook for the nation of Israel. They were sung in their original forms. In the Psalms there is really much prophecy, because we are told by Peter that David was a prophet and that he spake by the Holy Spirit. And much of what he spake was prophecy in regards to the coming Messiah, and did have its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. There are many psalms that are known as Messianic psalms. That is, psalms that refer directly to Jesus Christ. We'll get one of those tonight as we get into the second psalm. Each of the five books of the psalms end with a doxology. The first of the books is from Psalm 1-41, the second is 42-72, the third is 73-89, the fourth is 90-106, and the fifth book of the psalms is from 107-150. The majority of them were written by David. Asaph was an author of some of them. Moses wrote some of them, but they were the songs of the children of Israel.

They speak of human nature. Man's cry after God; man seeking to relate to God. And they cover all of the gamut of man's feelings. They are poetry, but as we have pointed out, poetry to the Hebrew was not rhyming words or sentences, nor was it a rhythm, but it was a rhyming of ideas or a contrasting of ideas. Many of the psalms are known as acrostic psalms. We'll point them out to you as we get to them. That is, that each verse begins with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We have several acrostic psalms. With the Psalm 119 probably is the best example of an acrostic psalm, however, you find that about eight verses begin, each verse within the eight begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet successively, so that the first seven or eight verses begin with aleph, the next begin with beyth, and then daleth, and giymel and so forth. So you go through the Hebrew alphabet with 119 Psalm and it, of course, is the longest chapter in the Bible.

Psalm 1

The first psalm deals with the godly man and the ungodly man. There is a contrast. And the contrast is probably best expressed by the first and the last words of the psalm. Concerning the godly: blessed. Concerning the ungodly: perished.

Blessed is the man (Psa 1:1),

The word blessed in the Hebrew has as a meaning, "oh how happy" is the man. First of all, we see this happy man in a negative context. That is,

he is walking not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of the scornful (Psa 1:1).

And there does seem to be a progression here. First a person begins quite often just walking in the counsel of the ungodly. The next thing he finds he is standing around in the congregation of the sinners. And finally, he is settled down and is seated in the seat of the scornful. That is the negative side. The blessed man doesn't do this, but contrariwise,

His delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate both day and night (Psa 1:2).

So from a negative standpoint, the happy man is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, but from a positive standpoint, he is being directed by the counsel of God. He is meditating in the law of the Lord day and night. Now the effect or the results of this:

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

So we see, first of all, "Like a tree planted by the rivers of water," in contrast to a tree that is growing out in a barren wilderness. "Bringing forth fruit in his season." An interesting thing about unseasonable fruit, it never matures; it never becomes ripe. You may plant watermelon seeds in August when you eat your watermelons, and the vine might grow and watermelons might come on it, but it is unseasonable. It will never get ripe. It will always be green.

There are some people who never mature, that is, really bring forth mature fruit. Jesus tells us that the seed planted on various types of soil result in various developments of fruition. Some planted by the wayside, immediately is plucked up. On the stony ground, may grow for a moment, but will never bear fruit, never develop because it lacks the depth. That which is thrown among the thorns will grow, but the thorns will choke out the fruitfulness of it ultimately. The cares of this life, deceitfulness of riches the desire for other things. It is only that which falls on the good ground that brings forth good fruit. In varying degrees, thirty, sixty, one hundred fold. Now Jesus said, "Herein is my Father glorified that you bring froth much fruit." Then later on in that fifteenth chapter of John, He said, "You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you and ordained you that you should bring forth fruit. That your fruit should remain." And so as children of God we should be interested in being fruitful, bringing forth fruit. And then we should also be interested in bringing forth fruit that remains, or lasting fruit in our lives.

So often the test of a ministry is the lasting fruit that is brought forth from that ministry. "So like a tree bringing forth fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither." That is, there is a freshness to his life, a continual freshness. "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Now, what is this man doing? He is meditating in the law of the Lord day and night. God has given to us the rules of happiness. God has given to us the rules of prosperity. They are there in His law. "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Moses, when he turned the reigns over to Joshua, said unto Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart from out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8). Meditate, stay in the Word, the law of the Lord, and then thou shalt be prosperous, you'll have good success. So much the same is declared here in Psalm 1.

Now the contrast. And here is where the Hebrew poetry comes in, in contrasting ideas.

The ungodly are not so: but they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away (Psa 1:4).

Now, this is contrasted to the tree planted by the rivers of water bringing forth fruit in his season, but the ungodly is like chaff, which the wind driveth away.

Now when they threshed their grain... of course, when you gather in your barley or your wheat, it has the hull on it. And so they would pick it up in their hands, and they would get in a place where there is a good stiff breeze. They would rub it in their hands, and they would throw it up in the air. And the wind would take the hulls, the chaff, and blow it away, and just the grain would fall back down. And that was their form of removing the hulls from the grain after they had harvested. Just rubbing it in their hands and then throwing it up into the air and the wind. So it was a very familiar sight to the people, the fellow standing on a windy ridge rubbing his hands, throwing the grain in the air, and watching the chaff just blow away and just the grain falling back down again. So the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psa 1:5-6).

Psalm 2

The second psalm deals with the Kingdom Age. The glorious Kingdom Age when Jesus reigns upon the earth. A Messianic psalm.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? For the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his Anointed (Psa 2:1-2),

"His Anointed" there is His Messiah. The word Messiah is the anointed one. So they have taken counsel together against Jehovah and against His Messiah.

declaring, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Psa 2:2-3).

And so, man rebelling against God and against Jesus Christ. The heathen raging, imagining a vain thing that they can cast God off from their lives.

But he that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure (Psa 2:4-5).

So we are looking at God's judgment upon the Christ-rejecting world. And in spite of their gathering together to try to thwart the return of Jesus Christ, yet God will establish His kingdom upon the earth. God declares,

Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me (Psa 2:6-7),

Now this is Jesus speaking, the King who is on the holy hill... or rather, beg your pardon, God is still speaking.

Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession (Psa 2:7-8).

Now, verse 8 is often taken out of context and it is used by many missionary societies as sort of a key verse for the missionary society. "Ask of Me and I'll give You the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." But this is not really a missionary scripture. It has nothing to do with present day missions. This scripture has to do with the Kingdom Age, as the Father declares unto the Son, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me and I will give You the heathen for Thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." It's talking about that glorious day when our prayers are fulfilled and His kingdom has come and His will is being done in the earth even as it is in heaven, and His kingdom covers the entire earth. So it is the Father speaking to the Son promising to Him the kingdom, ruling over the whole earth. Then God speaks of the nature of that kingdom.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel (Psa 2:9).

Now, Jesus in His message to the Church of Thyatira, picked up from this particular psalm, and He said, "He that overcometh," verse 26 of chapter 2 of Revelation, "He that overcometh, and keepeth My works until the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers. As I have received of My Father." And so Jesus actually quotes from this psalm as regards to the nature of the Kingdom Age.

Now, when Jesus comes again to the earth in His second coming, the purpose is to establish God's kingdom upon the earth. That the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies of the Kingdom Age might come to pass, as righteousness will cover the earth and waters do cover the sea. And He will reign in righteousness, in truth, and in judgment. But it will be an ironclad reign. During this period of time Satan is to be bound and cast into the abusso, the bottomless pit. So he will not be one that we will have to contend with in the Kingdom Age. All we'll have to contend with is that inherent evil that is in man.

Now, when Jesus comes again, the first thing that will transpire is that He will gather together all of the nations for judgment and He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place those on His right hand, and He will say unto those, "Come ye, blessed of the Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundations of the earth. For I was hungry and you fed Me; thirsty and you gave Me to drink; naked and you clothed Me; sick and you visited Me" (Matthew 25:34-36). And to those on the left He will say, "Depart from Me ye workers of iniquity into everlasting judgment that was prepared for Satan and his angels. For I was hungry and you didn't feed Me. I was thirsty and you didn't give Me to drink. I was naked and you didn't clothe Me." "Well, Lord, when did we see You in these conditions?" And He said, "Inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these my brethren, you did it unto Me" (Matthew 25:41-45). Speaking of His brethren the Jews. So the nations will actually be judged concerning their treatment of His brethren. Now, those who are placed on the right side will be allowed to go into the Kingdom Age.

Now when Jesus comes again in His second coming, we will be coming with Him, only we will be in our glorified bodies. We will have gone through the metamorphosis that Paul speaks about in I Corinthians, chapter 15. "I show you a mystery, we are not going to all sleep but we're all going to be changed." The metamorphosis. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. For this corruption must put on incorruption; this mortal must put on immortality." So Paul said, "When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall we also appear with Him in glory." We'll be coming back with Jesus to live and reign with Him for a thousand years, during His millennial reign upon the earth. In Revelation, chapter 1, verse 6, as it is speaking of Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us, and all, and it speaks there, "And we shall reign with Him as a kingdom of priests." And then in the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation as He takes the sealed scroll out of the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne, the glorious song that is sung at that point by the church is, "Worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals, for He was slain and has redeemed us by His blood out of all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples. And hath made us unto our God a kingdom of priests and we shall reign with Him upon the earth" (Revelation 5:9-10).

So we are coming back to reign with Jesus upon the earth in his kingdom for a thousand years. That's one company, the church in their glorified bodies. But it will be possible and there will be some who will actually live through the Great Tribulation period; they'll survive it. And providing they have not worshipped the antichrist, providing they have not taken his mark, and providing their interest in God's people, they will be allowed to enter into the Kingdom Age in these bodies like we presently have in an earth that will be renewed and restored as was the Garden of Eden. In that again there will be a restored longevity of life. For a child will die being one hundred, those that are evil. But yet, those that are righteous will fulfill their years. They won't die; they will live during this entire period of time. The longevity will be restored.

But our position with Christ at that time. Satan will be bound, that force will be bound. And so Christ will be ruling, but we will be the enforcers of righteousness. As He said to the church of Thyatira, "To those that are overcome they will be with Me and they will rule over the nations with a rod of iron." And so here speaks of the ironclad type of rule that Jesus will have. In other words, people will be forced to be good. A person who is evil gets popped like a clay pot. Broken in shivers like a potter's vessel when it is hit with a piece of iron. It will be an ironclad rule. We won't have any sob sisters carrying signs in those days of leniency for the rapist. There will be absolute righteous judgment exercised. And people will be forced, that is, those who live in.

Now those who survive and live into the Kingdom Age, being in these bodies, will actually be able bear children, and there probably will be quite a population explosion during this period of time as the earth will be restored to such ideal conditions. However, at that point, we in our glorified bodies will be as the angels who neither marry nor are given in marriage. But we will just be with Christ, reigning and ruling with Him during the Kingdom Age over those people who have survived the Great Tribulation, who have survived the judgment of Jesus. And I do believe that that is what the forty-five day thing is in Daniel, where he says, Daniel is saying, "How long, Lord, until the end?" And He said, "From the time that they cause the daily sacrifices and oblations to cease it will be one 1,290 days, but blessed is he who comes to the 1,335 day." Which that blessedness of it is that you have made it through the judgment period; you can enter into the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ. During this thousand years, as we live upon a renewed earth under ideal conditions, it will be glorious. Annually we will be all taking a trip to Jerusalem to sit at the feet of Jesus, and just to worship there together in a glorious annual holiday. As the kings of the earth, which will be the church, come and sort of present themselves before the Lord in Jerusalem. Bringing the fruits of their section of the earth.

And the Lord said that in the parable when he had distributed the talents. To the one he gave five, he brought back and he said, "Lord, you gave me five. I have increased them and here are ten." And the Lord said, "Well done thou good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things now I will make thee ruler over ten cities. Enter into the joy of the Lord, enter into the Kingdom Age and ruling over ten cities." So the degree of our reigning and ruling with Christ will be in relationship to the degree of our faithfulness to those things that He has entrusted to us now. If I am faithful now in the little things that God has entrusted to me. But He said if He has entrusted the little things and we have not taken care of them, why would He entrust to us the greater things of the kingdom? So we live and reign with Christ.

Now at the end of that thousand year reign, Satan is going to be released and will go around the earth and will deceive many people. Now, there is no way that Satan at that point could deceive you or drag you down, because you are already in your glorified body. And you see, the only real angle that Satan has with us now is with the body. If it weren't for this body of flesh, Satan would be no problem to me at all. But it is because of my body of flesh, my fleshly desires that he appeals to that cause me to trip up. But I will be in my glorified body. So people say, "Oh, Satan's gonna... you know, many deceived. Will I be deceived?" No. Not if you are a child of God in your glorified body, no way. But those who have come into the kingdom who have been forced to be righteous, those who were born during this thousand-year period, will then have their time of testing. And God, just to prove through all eternity the human depravity of man, will allow Satan to be released. After men have lived in the ideal conditions under the reign of Christ for a thousand years, Satan will actually be able to gather together a great army to rebel against Jesus to come against Jerusalem to try to drive Him out. If you can believe that. Human depravity. God will have proven it once and for all, so that no one throughout all eternity will question the judgment of God in that He has cast certain ones out from His eternal kingdom. There will be no challenging of the fairness or justice of God, because every man will have his chance, and man will prove what is in him.

So the Kingdom Age, this is what we are referring to here. "Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." As Jesus shall reign as we sing, "Where ere the Son doth ere successive journeys run."

"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth (Psa 2:10).

Now he is talking really to us, who will be reigning with Him as kings, as judges, as enforcers of His righteousness.

Serve the LORD with fear, rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (Psa 2:11-12).

The bottom line: Blessed are those who put their trust, or, happy are those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 3

The third psalm is a psalm of David when he was fleeing from Absalom. Going over the Mount of Olives and out towards the Judean wilderness on news that Absalom was coming with an army from Hebron. And David pours out his heart to the Lord.

LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me (Psa 3:1).

Absalom had been able to gather much of Judah against David.

Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God (Psa 3:2).

God won't help him now.

But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head (Psa 3:3).

O God, there a lot of people that have risen against me. A lot of people going around saying, "God won't help him now." But O God, You are my shield. You are the one who lifts up my head. You're my glory.

I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (Psa 3:4).

Now, know all of the tension that is there. He is running. He doesn't know what the future holds; this could be it. But he said,

I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me (Psa 3:5).

He was able to sleep under these conditions.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people (Psa 3:6-8).

So the psalm begins with a cry of despair from all of the trouble. Those which had risen up against him, those who had said there was no hope. But he turns to God in this condition, and he is assured of God's strength and help. And the psalm ends, really, with a glorious note of victory, "Salvation belongs to the Lord. Thy blessing is upon Thy people."

Psalm 4

The fourth psalm is to the chief musician on Neginoth. Now Neginoth is a stringed instrument, and it is mentioned in connection with several of the Psalms--3, 5, 53, 54, 60, 66, and 75. So it is some kind of a stringed instrument that they had in those days. And so this psalm was to be accompanied as they sang it with this particular stringed instrument. David probably wrote not just the psalm, but the music, and also scored for the Neginoth so that the Neginoth player could play along the chords with them as they were singing.

Here me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer (Psa 4:1).

This is really a prayer of the evening. As David is calling unto God.

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after deceitfulness [or deception]? But know the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still (Psa 4:2-4).

In the evening, just lying there, commune with your own heart, just be still before the Lord. Just let your heart be in communion with Him.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There be many that say, Who will show us any good? (Psa 4:5-6)

Now, again, in the last psalm he was talking about those that say there is no help for him in God. There are always those negative people around. And there are always those who are going to say, "Who is going to show us any good?" David's answer,

LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. For thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased (Psa 4:6-7).

That is, those people who are negative about God. "What good does it do to pray? What good does it do to worship God? Who's gonna show you any good?" David says, "Lord, you have put happiness, gladness in my heart, more than theirs when they are in the midst of their thanksgiving, their harvest, their wine."

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me to dwell in safety (Psa 4:8).

So the glorious ability of the child of God to sleep even in the midst of problems, because of our trust in the Lord.

Psalm 5

Psalm 5 is a prayer of the morning. Psalm 4 was the prayer of the evening, and now for the morning.

Give ear unto my words, O LORD; consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and look up (Psa 5:1-3).

This again is upon a Neginoth, the psalm of David. And he said,

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all of the workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak deceitfully: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man (Psa 5:4-6).

Now the bloody, this is an old English kind of a word. Over in England to say, "You are a bloody bloke," is really a bad thing. Where's Malcolm? He'll tell you that in England the word bloody is really a gutter type of word. You have got to really watch your language when you go really from one culture to the other, because you can be saying things that are sort of weird.

When I was over in England I was speaking to a group of ministers, and I was sharing with them a little bit about the history of Calvary Chapel. And how before we came, the group of people that were praying whether or not to try to keep going or just to quit. And they were discouraged; there were only about twenty-five people here. They had a little church down here on Church Street here in Costa Mesa, and they had gone for a couple of years and were actually just deciding to whether or not to try to go or not. And so a prophecy came to them. And in the prophecy the Lord said that, "Chuck Smith is going to come down and be your new pastor and the church is going to be blessed. You are going to out grow this facility; you are going to have to move onto the bluff overlooking the bay. The church will be going on the radio nationally and it will be known around the world." Twenty-five discouraged people ready to quit and a prophecy like that, and you have the same attitude as the guy upon whom the king leaned when Elisha said, "Tomorrow they will be selling a barrel of wheat for sixty cents in the gate of the city." And he said, "If God could open up the windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" It seemed utterly impossible. The prophecy went on to say, "As soon as Chuck comes down, he's not going to like the church. He is going to suggest that you remodel it. Remodel the platform and all." And, it was just an encouragement, "Get in and do it."

They didn't tell me anything about the prophecy. In fact, when I finally said, "Yes, I will come down," they called me back the next day and they said, "Don't bother. We have decided to quit. We just have had it." I said, "Hey, I have already resigned. I'm on my way, you know." So the first Sunday, all of us went out for lunch together to the Sizzler. And I took the napkin on the table, and I said to the guys, "We really need to remodel the church, and here is what we need to do to the platform." And I began to draw on the napkin, remodeling design for the church. Now, they didn't tell me about the prophecy. I didn't know anything about it, but they all began to get real excited. They said, "That sounds great! Lets start this week." And I thought, "Wow! This is all right. I've got an eager crew here, you know."

And so I was relating this to the ministers in England how that I took out a napkin and I began to draw the plans on the napkin. Afterwards my host over there said, "Um, in England we call baby diapers a napkin." So he said, "All of those ministers were giggling because they pictured you drawing plans on a baby diaper." So it is interesting how one culture changes the thoughts and the meanings. Of course, that's not quite as bad as when I was in New Guinea and I decided to use one of Romaine's phrases, but never again. As I, at the close of the missionary conference, told those Wycliffe missionaries how the conference was just such a great blessing to us. I said, "I've just been blessed out of my gourd since I have been here." Not realizing that New Guinea tribesmen often wear gourds over a certain part of their body. The place broke up.

Now I don't know what the word bloody means really, but it's a dirty word in England. So being an English translation of a Hebrew word, it's a word that doesn't really commentate to us the dirtiness of it, that it is. It is a dirty kind of a man. But it doesn't really connotate in our minds. But David used it several times in the psalm concerning the deceitful man and the evil man. So he speaks, "The Lord will abhor the bloody and the deceitful man." That will mean much more to an Englishman than it does you.

But as for me (Psa 5:7),

Now here is the contrast. Now, as I told you, poetry to them is contrasting ideas or the compounding of an idea. Here comes the contrast,

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee (Psa 5:7-10).

Contrast.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defend them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee (Psa 5:11).

This is a beautiful psalm, really. "Let all of these who put their trust in Thee rejoice." If you put your trust in the Lord, then you should be rejoicing, shouting for joy. Why? Because God defends you. "Those that love Thy name, let them be joyful in Thee." God does want the consciousness of our daily walk in life to be that of joy.

For thou, LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor will thou encircle him as with a shield (Psa 5:12).

Psalm 6

The sixth psalm is to the chief musician on this stringed instrument and upon the Sheminith. Now the Sheminith is a word that means the eighth, and so it was to be played in octaves. So on a stringed instrument played in octaves. So David, no doubt, made these notations on the psalms as he wrote them, and wrote it as a hymnal for the people.

O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure (Psa 6:1).

Now here is where David is, I am certain, carrying over a human characteristic to God. For we as parents are often guilty of rebuking our children in anger and chastening them in hot displeasure. That is a human characteristic, and it is a failing many times on the part of us as parents. We are angry, and we sometimes over discipline because of our anger.

Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul also is sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? (Psa 6:2-5)

Now this is David crying out of a soul that is vexed. According to the words of Jesus, these words of David are not correct. He is expressing, as did Job, his own ideas, his own thoughts of death.

For Jesus tells us that when the rich man in hell lifted up his eyes, being in torment and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus being comforted in Abraham's bosom, said unto him, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to me that he may take his finger and dip in water and touch my tongue, for I am tormented in this heat." And Abraham said unto him, "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime had good things and Lazarus evil. Now he is comforted while you are tormented. Besides this, there is a gulf that is between us, and it is impossible for you to come over here or those that are here to go over there." "Then I pray thee, if he cannot come to me, send him back that he might warn my brothers lest they also come to this horrible place."

There is a consciousness, there is awareness, there is a memory. It isn't an oblivion as some people would like to think. That is from the word of Jesus, and I would say that He probably knows more about it than anybody else. And I'll take His opinion and His word for it above anybody else. I think that is prime when you can get the word of Christ on an issue. Especially issue of death and after death and what lies beyond the grave. Man may speculate, but Jesus speaks.

I am weary with my groaning; all night (Psa 6:6)

Of course, I would have to say that David is exaggerating. He said,

I make my bed to swim [with my tears] (Psa 6:6);

That is a lot of crying, David.

I water my couch with my tears (Psa 6:6).

So this is what is known as speaking in a hyperbole. It's writer's license. David is just talking about... and David must have been a melancholy, I guess. He speaks a lot about crying. "I am weary with my groaning."

My eye is consumed because of grief; it waxes old because of all of my enemies. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly (Psa 6:7-10).

So David's prayer unto the Lord, out of a spirit that is vexed, that is downcast. But it is interesting how the psalms always seem to end on a high note. "The Lord hath heard my supplication. The Lord will receive my prayer."

Psalm 7

The seventh psalm is Shiggaion. Which means the loud crying of David which he sang unto the Lord concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite.

O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me (Psa 7:1):

Now David had his share of enemies, poor fellow. Always crying out against the oppressors, against the enemies.

Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. O LORD my God, [if I have done this; if I am guilty of his accusations,] if there be any iniquity in my hands; If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:) (Psa 7:2-4)

Now, evidently this is the accusation, that David had rewarded evil for a guy that was at peace with him. David said, "That isn't true. I actually delivered him, who without cause has become mine enemy."

Let the enemy (Psa 7:5),

If it's true, if the accusations are true, then,

Let the enemy persecute my soul (Psa 7:5),

Remember in Job, Job said much the same thing, "If I have done these things, if I have committed adultery or sin with my eyes, then let my wife be unfaithful. I deserve it." But Job was protesting his innocence, "I haven't." And David is much the same as did Job, "If I am guilty, then let this thing happen, let the enemy persecute my soul,"

and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honor in the dust. Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded. So shall the congregation of the people encircle thee about: for their sakes therefore return on high. The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me (Psa 7:5-8).

Now, that is far from what David prayed in the fifty-first psalm. Here it is on this particular issue, and he felt that he was righteous in this particular issue. "I am not guilty here, so Lord, judge me here concerning my righteousness." But where he was guilty and knew he was guilty, in the fifty-first psalm, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions." He wasn't crying for justice there; he was crying for mercy. I have never cried for justice.

"Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to mine integrity that is in me." Now, David knew that he was innocent of the charges that Cush had been making and so, "God, You know and You judge."

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins (Psa 7:9).

And God is gonna try the hearts; our motives will one day be judged. Actually, our works are all to be judged by fire to see what sort they are, and those that remain after the test of fire we will be rewarded for. But much of man's work will be destroyed. God judges the heart. God knows the motive, something that we are not even always aware of.

My defense is of God, which saves the upright in heart. God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword [or sharpen his sword]; he has bent his bow, and made it ready. He has prepared for him the instruments of death (Psa 7:10-13);

That's sort of a heavy scripture. God has already for the wicked the way by which he is going to die. "He's bent his bow, he has sharpened his sword, he already has planned the method of the destruction of the wicked."

Behold, he travaileth with iniquity and conceives mischief, he brought forth falsehood. He made a pit, he dug it and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high (Psa 7:14-17).

So, again, ending on a high note, as he tells of the judgment of God against his enemy. "I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, sing praise to the name of the Lord most high."

Psalm 8

Psalm 8 is to the chief musician upon Gittith. Now Gittith means wine press, and so you have the thought of the harvest in the sense, actually, of judgment. The time of harvest has come.

O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psa 8:1)

The first Lord, all capital letters, signifying that it is a translation of the Hebrew name for God. That name which we do not know exactly how to pronounce. Perhaps it is Yahweh; perhaps it is Jehovah. Nobody really knows for sure. People have taken sides on the issue, but it is a mute question. We really are not certain of the pronunciation of the name. The Jews felt the name was so sacred that they would not write it in their script. They would only write Y H V H, the consonants, so it remained unpronounceable. They didn't want a person to even pronounce it silently as they were reading, so when a Jew would come to this particular verse to read it, "O Lord, our Lord," reading it out of Hebrew, he would just say, "O," and then he would bow his head and then he would say, "The name." But he would not try to pronounce the name, just, "The name," for it was the name of God.

It is a Hebrew verb which means, "I am that I am." Or more literally, "the becoming one." It is a name by which God describes His desired relationship to you. As God desires to become to you whatever you may need. He is become our peace. He is become our righteousness. He is become our healer. He is become our provider. God becomes to us whatever we need. And so it is a beautiful name, because it is a name by which God describes His relationship to you. He wants to become to you whatever you need.

The second Lord here, "Our Lord," capital L, small ord, signifies that it is the translation of the Hebrew word adonai, which means master. And thus, it is a title, and thus, it signifies our relationship to Him. The first one signifies His desired relationship to us, the Becoming One; the second indicates our relationship to Him, Master. "O Jehovah, our Master, how excellent is Thy name." You see, the name Jehovah, how excellent is that name in all the earth.

Now we are told in Philippians, chapter 2, that Jesus, even though He was in the form of God and thought it not robbery or something to be grasped to be equal with God, emptied Himself, or made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a man. And coming in likeness of a man was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God has also highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jehovah Shua, the compound name of Jehovah, for He has become, in Jesus Christ, our salvation. The angel said to Joseph when he was worried whether or not to expose Mary or put her away privately, the angel said, "Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She is going to bring forth a son. Thou shalt call His name, Jehovah Shua, (or Yashua in Hebrew). For He shall save His people from their sins." A name that is above all names. "How excellent is Thy name." The name of Jesus, the most excellent name in all of the world. Yashua, Jehovah has become our greatest need, our salvation.

Now in the Kingdom Age He is going to have a new name, Jehovah-Tsidkenu. I would just assume stick with Yashua, cause Tsidkenu is hard to pronounce. But Jeremiah tells us that is the name in the Kingdom Age, which is, "He has become our salvation, Jehovah, our salvation." How excellent is Thy name, a name which is above every name in all the earth.

who has set thy glory above the heavens (Psa 8:1).

Now the heavens are glorious. The heavens declare the glory of God. They are not the glory of God; they declare the glory of God. His glory is even above the heavens, or higher than the heavens. And yet, perhaps the most glorious thing that we as man can observe are the heavens. But God's glory is even above the heavens.

Out of the mouth babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger (Psa 8:2).

It is interesting to me that that glorious God has revealed Himself in such simple terms that even a child can comprehend and begin to know God and have faith in God. And to me the purest faith probably that we can find is that faith within a child. How beautiful is that faith of a child. When our kids were growing up, I always wanted them to pray for me when I wasn't feeling well. Such pure faith, the simplicity. As Jesus took a child and put it in the midst of all the scholars, and He said, "Unless you become like a little child, you are not going to catch on. You are not going to enter the kingdom of heaven." Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings God has perfected praise; He has ordained strength.

Then David said,

When I consider thy heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man (Psa 8:3-4),

Now the philosophers and man today is seeking to understand, "What is man?" That is the basic question of the philosophers, "What is man?" But the mistake that the philosophers make is that they start with man, rather than, as with David, starting with God. "O LORD, our Lord, when I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon, the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man?" If I start with God, then I have man in his proper perspective. If I start with man, I have no perspective. I have no place to go. I don't know where to go. I have no perspective. I can't see man in any perspective unless I start with God and then I see man in his proper perspective.

"When I consider the heavens, the work of Your fingers the moon, the stars which Thou hast ordained,"

what is man, that thou art mindful of him? (Psa 8:4)

How often I have sat at the seashore watching the sun go down when I was a child. I lived in a seacoast town, Ventura, north of here. I used to love to get my fishing pole and go down and dig for soft-shelled sand crabs and I had a neat corbina hole. And I'd cast out there, and I would watch the surf and I would watch the sun as it would go down. And I would be all alone in the sandy beach, and I felt so small as it was getting dark. I felt so small as Venus would start to come out. And then some of the other stars, and I would look up and I would think, "Wow! I am alone here on the beach, looking out at that portion of the Pacific to the horizon seeing the sun go down." And thinking how vast the Pacific Ocean was, how vast the world was. I knew just to ride my bike the two miles back to my house seemed like a long way at that point. And to realize, you know, just how vast the earth is. And I felt so small in relationship to the earth. But then I thought of the earth in relationship to the sun that had just set, and then the relationship to the earth to the stars that I saw coming out. "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" Here I am, a speck of dust down on this little planet, and yet, God thinks about me. All the time He thinks about me. And sitting there in the sand, it was exciting, 'cause I would look up the beach and see all of the sand dunes. And my mother had taught me the scripture concerning, "Thy thoughts concerning me, if I should number them are more than the grains of sand in the sea." And I would think of the greatness of God, and I would just sit there just over awed that God, the One who created this vast universe that I was looking at, was mindful of me. This little kid sitting on the sand on a beach by myself.

"What is man that thou art mindful of him?" God is thinking about you all of the time. And His thoughts concerning you are good, not evil. He isn't thinking how He can give you a bad time this week and make it really tough on you. See how much He can make you squirm. God is thinking, "How can I show them how much I love them? How can I show them that I care? What good thing can I do for them this week, that they will know that I am there, that they'll know that I am concerned, that they know that I love them?" He is thinking about you all of the time.

and the Son of man that thou shouldst visit him? (Psa 8:4)

What is man that God should come down to visit him? Who am I that God should seek to visit with me? And yet, He desires to visit with me. I don't always have time for Him. Sometimes He has called to me and said, "Chuck, come, let's have a little visit." And I say, "No, Lord. I don't have time. I'm so busy, Lord. Can't You see how busy I am? Catch you later, Lord." But you know what? He has never once said to me, "I am too busy for you." In fact, He seems always so happy whenever I come around. So glad that I came, as though He was longing for my fellowship. When I had everything to gain from it, and He has so little to gain. O, how excellent, Lord, is thy name in all the earth. Who is a pardoning God like Thee? Who is the God that is so merciful and so kind and so loving, and so concerned as our God? What is man that God should visit him? And yet, He did.

Thou hast made him (Psa 8:5)

Man is not the product of accidental circumstances. Man is not the product of a series of chance, random chance, through billions of years. But the psalmist declares, "Thou hast made him." But brilliant men who don't want to acknowledge God, because they don't want to keep God in their minds, have had to create theories by which they have sought to explain the existence of man, in quote, "scientific terms." And these brilliant men tell us that God was created by man in man's own image and after man's own likeness. That because man needed to believe in something, he created the idea and the concepts of God. But God is only the figment of man's imagination; he was created by man. But the scriptures said, "Not so." "Thou hast made him." God created man in His image and after His likeness. So you have the choice to believe that man created God, or that God created man. But to me, if I am going to have any kind of a logical base for existence, I must believe that God has created me, otherwise life is without purpose. I am living in a puzzle in the middle of a muddle, and there is no reason, rhyme, purpose for existence or being. I came by an accident; I'll go by an accident. Tough! Life becomes completely empty, dehumanizing, if you try to take away from, "Thou hast made him."

Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (Psa 8:5),

Now the angels are God's ministering spirits. They have been sent forth to minister to those who are heirs of salvation. We see the order now of beings in the universe. It is: God, angels, man, animals, plants. "Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,"

but you've crowned him with glory and honor (Psa 8:5).

I look around the earth in which I live, I see all of the life forms upon the earth, and I realize that I have been crowned with glory and honor. I am the highest order of God's observable creation here on the planet Earth. And I see the accomplishments of man. Think of what the world would be if man wasn't here. Both good and bad, isn't it? If man wasn't on the earth, they wouldn't have polluted streams, polluted skies, and threat of destruction by nuclear warheads. And yet, also, if man wasn't here, there would be no music, no poetry, there would be no beautiful paintings, there would be, the earth would miss so much as God has placed in man the music and the beauty of expression.

"You have crowned him with glory and honor."

You made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands (Psa 8:6);

God has given us dominion over that work of His hands. "The earth showeth forth His handiwork." So we have dominion over the plants, we have dominion over the animals, over the earth. God gave it to Adam, "Have dominion over it." Now, that is dominion in the sense of dressing it, keeping it, taking care of it, developing it. It isn't dominion in the sense that I can destroy it if I please, I can waste it if I please, I can recklessly, carelessly destroy the natural resources if I please because I have dominion. Not at all. The idea is to dress it, to keep it, to take care of it. "You have given him dominion over the works of Thy hands."

you have put all things under his feet (Psa 8:6):

Crowned him with glory and honor. Now this in a broader sense, of course, applies to Jesus Christ and is used in application to Jesus Christ in the book of Hebrews, the second chapter, verses 6 and 8, and has been made to apply to Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. You see, He was God, not Michael the archangel. If He was Michael the archangel, then He wouldn't have had to have been made a little lower than the angels. He would have been an angel, and He would not have had to been made a little lower than the angels. But He made Him a little lower than the angels, and crowned Him, for the suffering of death. As an angel He could not die; as God He could not die. And thus, He had to be made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death. And God has put all things in subjection unto Him, but the author of Hebrews said, "We do not yet see all things in subjection unto Him, but we see Jesus, made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor."

So all those things that God has put under man,

The sheep, the ox, the beast of the field; the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea (Psa 8:7-8).

A sea captain was one time in the hospital, and the nurse was reading to him the psalms. And when she came to the eighth psalm, she read the eighth psalm, and when she read that last verse, or the next to the last verse there, verse 8, he said, "Read that again." She read it again. And he said, "Read it again!" And she read it again. And he said, "That is interesting, paths in the sea. If God has declared that there are paths in the sea, there must be paths in the sea." And so he began to put out bottles and he began to chart the sea currents, and discovered that there are definite paths in the seas, the sea currents. And from that time on the shipping industry began to follow the sea currents, saving thousands upon thousands of dollars in fuel, because they go with the currents. There are paths through the sea.

O LORD [O Jehovah, our master], how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psa 8:9)

Psalm 9

The ninth psalm is to the chief musician on Muthlabben. Muthlabben is the death of a son. This could have been when Bathsheba's first son died.

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; you sat in the throne judging right. You have rebuked the heathen, and you have destroyed the wicked, you have put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the LORD (Psa 9:1-7)

And here is contrast: they have perished,

But the LORD will endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world (Psa 9:7-8)

Now you are building thought upon thought, "He has prepared His throne for judgment."

And he shall judge the world with righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the LORD, which dwells in Zion: declare among the people his doings. When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou liftest me up from the gates of death: That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation. The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which is hid their own foot is taken. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executes: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands (Psa 9:8-16).

And that Higgaion is "meditate on that." "The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands." Just, meditate on it.

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men (Psa 9:17-20).

O God, answer that. Put the leaders, the heathen in fear, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. We so often get an exalted idea of ourselves.

Psalm 10

Why do you stand a far off, O LORD? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? (Psa 10:1)

Have you ever prayed that? "Lord, why aren't You doing something about it? Why do You seem to hide Yourself when I am in trouble?"

The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasts his heart's desire, and blesses the covetous, whom the LORD abhors. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffs at them. He has said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing, deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and emptiness. He sits in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privately set against the poor. He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lies in wait to catch the poor: he does catch the poor, when he has drawn him into his net. He crouches, and humbles himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hides his face; he will never see it (Psa 10:2-11).

And so he describes the wicked in his deeds. The idea, the consciousness is that God has forgotten. He hides his face. He doesn't see. There is a mistake that people oftentimes make, and that is, they mistake the patience of God for blindness. Because God hasn't already smitten them, hasn't already destroyed them, they begin to get a comfortable feeling like, "Well, God doesn't know," or, "God doesn't see." It is always a dangerous position to be in.

David says,

Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand: forget not the humble. Wherefore does the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. Thou hast seen it; for you behold mischief and spite, to requite it in thy hand: the poor commits himself to thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out the wickedness till you find none. The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, that will cause your ear to hear: to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, and the man of the earth may no more oppress (Psa 10:12-18).

Psalm 11

Psalm 11 is to the chief musician. It is a psalm of David.

In the LORD put I my trust: how do you say to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? (Psa 11:1)

My trust is in the Lord. Why should I flee to the mountains? Why should I try to hide from trouble? My trust is in God.

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they might privately shoot at the upright in heart. Now if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psa 11:2-3)

I think that this is a very interesting question that we need to ask ourselves at the present time, as we look at the state of our nation. And we see the foundations being destroyed. The moral foundations upon which our nation was built are being destroyed. The liberal politicians are undermining and destroying the foundations upon which this nation was built, and if the foundations are destroyed, what are the righteous going to do? The thing is going to crumble. Even as Rome was conquered, not from without, but it crumbled from within, because of the rotten planks that once held the nation Rome strong. The law and so forth became corrupt, rotten.

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in the heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD tries the righteous: but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; and his countenance doth behold the upright (Psa 11:4-7).

Psalm 12

The chief musician upon octaves, the psalm of David. Psalm 12.

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men (Psa 12:1).

Remember when Elijah said, "Lord, they have all bowed their knee to Baal and I, only I am left. Lord, the righteous man ceases. There is none left."

"Help, Lord. The faithful fail from among children of men."

They speak emptiness every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and a double heart do they speak (Psa 12:2).

He has been around Hollywood.

The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue of those that speak proud things: who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, and for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD (Psa 12:3-5);

So God's answer. He is praying, "Help, Lord. The godly ceaseth. People are just, you know, speaking vanity, everyone with his neighbor, flattering, and they are saying 'Hey, we'll do it with our lips, you know. We'll prevail with our tongues and all.'" And so God answers, "For the oppression of the poor and for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord."

I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him (Psa 12:5).

And so the psalmist responds,

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted (Psa 12:6-8).

Psalm 13

The thirteenth psalm, to the chief musician. Psalm of David.

How long will thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long will thou hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (Psa 13:1-2)

The cry, "O Lord, how long do I go on in this trial? How long, Lord, before You deliver?"

Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; and my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation (Psa 13:3-5).

Comes on strong at the end. He speaks of the confidence of the victory that shall be his.

I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me (Psa 13:6).

Psalm 14

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one (Psa 14:1-3).

God's estimation of man. None righteous. None that seeketh after God. None that are good, no, not one. Paul quotes this in Romans, chapter 2, as he is laying out his premise and developing the theme of, "The whole world guilty before God." Paul then quotes this, "There is none that seeketh after God. There is none that is good. There is none that is righteous, no, not one."

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! [Oh that the Messiah would come!] when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad (Psa 14:4-7).

Looking forward, actually, to the Kingdom Age when God finally restores the people from captivity, and the rejoicing that shall take place.

Psalm 15

LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? (Psa 15:1)

The psalmist asks the question, "Who's going to dwell in the holy hill? Who's gonna dwell in the Lord's tabernacle?" And he answers the question. Thomas Jefferson says of this answer that it was the picture of the true gentleman. As David answers his own question, "Who shall abide in God's tabernacle and in His holy hill?"

He that walks uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaks the truth inner from his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honors them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changes not (Psa 15:2-4).

A lot of times a person will take an oath, but when they find out when they have made a mistake, they will change it. But a truly honorable person, if he said he will do it, he will do it, even if it costs him. He who swears to his own hurt. "Yes, I will do it." Then finds out, "Hey, it's going to cost me," but he goes ahead and does it anyhow. He doesn't change. A man of his word, something that God really looks up to.

He that puts not out his money for usury [charging an exorbitant interest], nor takes reward from the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved (Psa 15:5).

This is the man who will dwell in the Lord's tabernacle and in His holy hill.